Combined heat exchanger module

ABSTRACT

A combined heat exchanger module may include an upper tank into which cooling water is introduced, a lower tank from which the cooling water is discharged, first heat radiating channels, the first heat radiating channels being formed with a plate tube shape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged in planes which are parallel to a direction of air flow, second heat radiating channels, the second heat radiating channels being formed with a plate tube shape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged in planes which are parallel to the direction of the air flow and are disposed upstream or downstream of the first heat radiating channels with respect to the direction of the air flow, and thermoelectric elements, each having a first surface in surface contact with the second heat radiating channels and a second surface exposed to air.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2015-0104571, filed Jul. 23, 2015, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a combined heat exchanger module, andmore particularly to a combined heat exchanger module capable of rapidlysupplying warm air to an indoor space by supplementing an insufficientheat source during a heating operation.

Description of Related Art

In general, an air-conditioning system for an automobile serves toprovide a pleasant environment for occupants in the car by controllingthe indoor temperature for their comfort or to remove frost andcondensation generated on a window of the car so that a driver cansecure clear vision and safe driving can be ensured.

The air-conditioning system includes a cooling system and a heatingsystem in order to control the indoor temperature to a desiredtemperature. The cooling system includes an evaporator core mounted in arefrigerant line, and is operated such that cooled refrigerant flowsthrough the evaporator core and external air passes by the evaporatorcore so as to cause heat exchange between the refrigerant in theevaporator core and the external air, thereby cooling the air to besupplied to the indoor space.

The heating system includes a heater core mounted in a cooling waterline, and is operated such that hot cooling water flows through theheater core and external air passes by the heater core so as to causeheat exchange between the cooling water in the heater core and theexternal air, thereby heating the air to be supplied to the indoorspace.

Heat generated from an engine during the operation of the same isabsorbed in cooling water, or heat generated by electronic components ofelectric vehicles or hybrid vehicles is absorbed and supplied to theheater core. However, when the engine is initially started, thetemperature of the cooling water is not adequate to heat the indoorspace because the engine is not generating sufficient heat. Meanwhile,the heat generated by the electronic components of electric vehicles orhybrid vehicles is typically insufficient to heat the indoor space.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section isonly for enhancement of understanding of the general background of theinvention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form ofsuggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to aperson skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing acombined heat exchanger module capable of rapidly heating air usingthermoelectric elements added to a heater core.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a combined heatexchanger module may include an upper tank into which cooling water isintroduced, a lower tank from which the cooling water is discharged,first heat radiating channels, each having an upper end connected withthe upper tank and a lower end connected with the lower tank, the firstheat radiating channels being formed with a plate tube shape throughwhich the cooling water flows and being arranged in planes which areparallel to a direction of air flow, second heat radiating channels,each having an upper end connected with the upper tank and a lower endconnected with the lower tank, the second heat radiating channels beingformed with a plate tube shape through which the cooling water flows andbeing arranged in planes which are parallel to the direction of the airflow and are disposed upstream or downstream of the first heat radiatingchannels with respect to the direction of the air flow, andthermoelectric elements, each having a first surface in surface contactwith the second heat radiating channels and a second surface exposed toair.

The combined heat exchanger module may further include heat radiationfins coupled to at least one of the first heat radiating channels andthe second surface of the thermoelectric elements, in which the heatradiation fins are exposed to air.

The combined heat exchanger module may further include gaskets providedto seal connection portions between the upper and lower tanks and thefirst and second heat radiating channels.

The thermoelectric elements may be coupled to both lateral surfaces ofthe second heat radiating channels by surface-contacting.

The thermoelectric elements may be arranged in series and may beconnected to each other.

The first surface of each of the thermoelectric elements that is insurface contact with the second heat radiating channels may act as acooling surface.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a combined heatexchanger module may include a first upper tank into which cooling wateris introduced, a lower tank into which the cooling water is introducedor from which the cooling water is discharged, a second upper tank fromwhich the cooling water is discharged, first heat radiating channels,each having an upper end connected with the first upper tank and a lowerend connected with the lower tank, the first heat radiating channelsbeing formed with a plate tube shape through which the cooling waterflows and being arranged in planes which are parallel to the directionof air flow, second heat radiating channels, each having a lower endconnected with the lower tank and an upper end connected with the secondupper tank, the second heat radiating channels being formed with a platetube shape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged inplanes which are parallel to the direction of the air flow and aredisposed upstream or downstream of the first heat radiating channelswith respect to the direction of the air flow, and thermoelectricelements, each having a first surface which is in surface contact withthe second heat radiating channels and a second surface exposed to air.

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similarterms as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such aspassenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses,trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety ofboats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles,electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-poweredvehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuel derived fromresources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicleis a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example, bothgasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary combined heat exchangermodule according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the exemplary combined heatexchanger module according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the exemplary combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary combined heat exchangermodule according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view of thermoelectric elements of the exemplary combinedheat exchanger module according to the present invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. Thespecific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein,including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations,and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intendedapplication and use environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) willbe described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that the present description is not intended to limit theinvention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, theinvention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to various embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 2 is anexploded perspective view of the combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to various embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 3 is aplan view of the combined heat exchanger module according to variousembodiments of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of acombined heat exchanger module according to various embodiments of thepresent invention, and FIG. 5 is a view of thermoelectric elements ofthe combined heat exchanger module according to various embodiments ofthe present invention.

A combined heat exchanger module according to various embodiments of thepresent invention includes an upper tank 101 into which cooling water isintroduced, a lower tank 103 from which the cooling water is discharged,first heat radiating channels 201, each having an upper end connectedwith the upper tank 101 and a lower end connected with the lower tank103, the first heat radiating channels 201 being formed to have a platetube shape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged inplanes which are parallel to the direction of air flow, second heatradiating channels 203, each having an upper end connected with theupper tank 101 and a lower end connected with the lower tank 103, thesecond heat radiating channels 203 being formed to have a plate tubeshape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged in planeswhich are parallel to the direction of the air flow and are disposedupstream or downstream of the first heat radiating channels 201 withrespect to the direction of the air flow, and thermoelectric elements301, each having one surface which is in surface contact with the secondheat radiating channels 203 and the other surface exposed to air.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooling water is introduced into theupper tank 101, and is discharged from the lower tank 103. The upper endof each of the first heat radiating channels 201 is connected with theupper tank 101, and the lower end of each of the first heat radiatingchannels 201 is connected with the lower tank 103. The first heatradiating channels 201 are formed to have a plate tube shape throughwhich the cooling water flows, and are arranged in planes which areparallel to the direction of the air flow. The upper end of each of thesecond heat radiating channels 203 is connected with the upper tank 101,and the lower end of each of the second heat radiating channels 203 isconnected with the lower tank 103. The second heat radiating channels203 are formed to have a plate tube shape through which the coolingwater flows, and are arranged in planes which are parallel to thedirection of the air flow and are disposed upstream or downstream of thefirst heat radiating channels 201 with respect to the direction of theair flow. One surface of each of the thermoelectric elements 301 is insurface contact with the second heat radiating channels 203, and theother surface of each of the thermoelectric elements 301 is exposed tothe air.

Vehicles are basically equipped with an air conditioning system forcooling or heating air in an indoor space in order to maintain apleasant indoor environment. During the heating operation, indoor air isheated through heat exchange using a heater core. Heat generated fromthe engine during the operation of the same is absorbed in coolingwater, or heat generated by electronic components of electric vehiclesor hybrid vehicles is absorbed and supplied to the heater core. However,when the engine is initially started, the temperature of the coolingwater is not adequate to heat the indoor space because the engine is notgenerating sufficient heat. Meanwhile, the heat generated by theelectronic components of electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles istypically insufficient to heat the indoor space.

Describing the combined heat exchanger module according to the presentinvention in detail, the air to be supplied to the indoor space ismainly heated by the first heat radiating channels 201, through whichthe cooling water flows, and is secondarily heated by the thermoelectricelements 301 that are in surface contact with the second heat radiatingchannels 203. Accordingly, even when the temperature of the heat sourcefor the heating operation is relatively low, warm air can be supplied tothe indoor space in a short time as compared to the prior art.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is important to raise the temperature of onesurface of the thermoelectric elements 301 in order to generatesufficient heat for the heating operation from the other surface of thethermoelectric elements 301. The combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to the present invention can be more efficiently operated byraising the temperature of one surface of the thermoelectric elements301 using the thermal energy of the cooling water supplied to the secondheat radiating channels 203 with which one surface of the thermoelectricelements 301 is in surface contact. Further, since the cooling water iscooled more using a cooling surface of the thermoelectric elements 301than when using an air-cooling method, the cooling water can efficientlycool the engine or electronic components.

Furthermore, since the second heat radiating channels 203 are disposedupstream or downstream of the first heat radiating channels 201, it ispossible to determine which of the first heat radiating channels 201 andthe second heat radiating channels 203 the air to be supplied to theindoor space undergoes first heat exchange with.

In addition, since the first heat radiating channels 201, acting as aheater core, and the second heat radiating channels 203, acting to heatair using the thermoelectric elements 301, are combined in a singlemodule, the combined heat exchanger module according to the presentinvention takes up less space.

Heat radiation fins 303 may be coupled to the first heat radiatingchannels 201 and/or the other surface of the thermoelectric elements301, and may be exposed to the air.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat radiation fins 303, which arecoupled to the first heat radiating channels 201 and/or the othersurface of the thermoelectric elements 301 and are exposed to the air,serve to increase the area for heat exchange with the air to be suppliedto the indoor space, thereby heating the air more rapidly.

Gaskets 105 may be provided to seal connection portions between theupper/lower tanks 101 and 103 and the first/second heat radiatingchannels 201 and 203.

Referring to FIG. 2, because the volume of materials is frequentlychanged due to changes in the temperature in the cooling watercirculation line for heating, water leaks may occur unless the seal isensured, which may cause overheating of the engine or electroniccomponents due to a lack of cooling water, or may cause damage ormalfunction of the electronic components. Therefore, the seal isconsiderably important. For this reason, the gaskets 105 are provided atthe connection portions between the upper/lower tanks 101 and 103 andthe first/second heat radiating channels 201 and 203 in order to preventthe leakage of the cooling water.

The thermoelectric elements 301 may be coupled to both lateral surfacesof the second heat radiating channels 203 in a surface-contact manner.

As shown in FIG. 3, since the thermoelectric elements 301 are in surfacecontact with both lateral surfaces of the second heat radiating channels203, the air to be supplied to the indoor space can be heated in ashorter time, and the temperature of the cooling water can be lowered ina shorter time, thereby effectively cooling the engine or electroniccomponents.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of thermoelectric elements 301 may bearranged in series and connected to each other.

If the thermoelectric elements 301 are manufactured to have a sizecorresponding to the second heat radiating channels 203, manufacturingcosts may be increased. Even worse, the larger the area of thethermoelectric elements 301 that is to be made to contact the secondheat radiating channels 203, the harder it is to maintain the flatnessof the thermoelectric elements 301. Thus, it becomes difficult to makethe thermoelectric elements 301 and the second heat radiating channels203 closely contact each other. If the surface contact between thethermoelectric elements 301 and the second heat radiating channels 203is not perfectly achieved, heat exchange therebetween will not properlyoccur, and thus the performance of the combined heat exchanger module isdeteriorated.

In view of this, a plurality of relatively small thermoelectric elements301 are connected in series to each other, so as to be compatible withvarious shapes of objects to be brought into surface contact with thethermoelectric elements 301, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturingthe thermoelectric elements 301 and achieving perfect close contactbetween the thermoelectric elements 301 and objects to be brought intosurface contact with the thermoelectric elements 301.

The thermoelectric elements 301 may be coupled to the second heatradiating channels 203 in such a manner that the lateral surfacesthereof, which come into surface contact with the second heat radiatingchannels 203, act as a cooling surface.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, by virtue of the cooling surface, which isthe lateral surface of each of the thermoelectric elements 301 that isin surface contact with the second heat radiating channels 203, thecombined heat exchanger module according to the present invention caneffectively achieve heating of the indoor air and cooling of the coolingwater.

Hereinafter, a combined heat exchanger module according to variousembodiments of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 4.

A combined heat exchanger module according to various embodiments of thepresent invention includes a first upper tank 102 into which coolingwater is introduced, a lower tank 103 into which the cooling water isintroduced or from which the cooling water is discharged, a second uppertank 104 from which the cooling water is discharged, first heatradiating channels 201, each having an upper end connected with thefirst upper tank 102 and a lower end connected with the lower tank 103,the first heat radiating channels 201 being formed to have a plate tubeshape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged in planeswhich are parallel to the direction of air flow, second heat radiatingchannels 203, each having a lower end connected with the lower tank 103and an upper end connected with the second upper tank 104, the secondheat radiating channels 203 being formed to have a plate tube shapethrough which the cooling water flows and being arranged in planes whichare parallel to the direction of the air flow and are disposed upstreamor downstream of the first heat radiating channels 201 with respect tothe direction of the air flow, and thermoelectric elements 301, eachhaving one surface which is in surface contact with the second heatradiating channels 203 and the other surface exposed to the air.

Referring to FIG. 4, the combined heat exchanger module may bestructured such that the cooling water is introduced and dischargedinto/from the respective first heat radiating channels 201 and secondheat radiating channels 203 in a parallel manner, however, the combinedheat exchanger module may be operated more efficiently in the case inwhich the cooling water is sequentially supplied in series to the firstheat radiating channels 201 or the second heat radiating channels 203depending on the temperature of the outdoor air or the temperature ofthe cooling water. FIG. 4 shows a series structure in which the coolingwater is sequentially supplied in series to the first heat radiatingchannels 201 and the second heat radiating channels 203.

The parallel connection structure is used in the case in which the flowrate of the cooling water is relatively high, the temperature of thecooling water is relatively high, the flow rate of the cooling waterthrough the first heat radiating channels 201 is higher than thatthrough the second heat radiating channels 203, or the heat dissipationrate of the first heat radiating channels 201 is relatively high. Theseries connection structure is used in the case in which the flow rateof the cooling water is relatively low, the temperature of the coolingwater is relatively low, or the heat dissipation rate of the first heatradiating channels 201 is similar to that of the second heat radiatingchannels 203. The flow rate of the cooling water through the first heatradiating channels 201 and the second heat radiating channels 203 may bedetermined by changing the volume or number of the channels.

Further, since the second heat radiating channels 203 are disposedupstream or downstream of the first heat radiating channels 201, it ispossible to determine which of the first heat radiating channels 201 andthe second heat radiating channels 203 the air to be supplied to theindoor space undergoes first heat exchange with.

As is apparent from the above description, the combined heat exchangermodule according to the present invention has advantages of being ableto perform the heating operation using both the cooling water and thethermoelectric elements and to bring the effect of cooling the coolingwater using the thermoelectric elements.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appendedclaims, the terms “upper” or “lower”, “inner” or “outer” and etc. areused to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference tothe positions of such features as displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain certain principles of the invention and their practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make andutilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as wellas various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A combined heat exchanger module comprising: anupper tank into which cooling water is introduced; a lower tank fromwhich the cooling water is discharged; first heat radiating channels,each having an upper end connected with the upper tank and a lower endconnected with the lower tank, the first heat radiating channels beingformed with a plate tube shape through which the cooling water flows andbeing arranged in planes which are parallel to a direction of air flow;second heat radiating channels, each having an upper end connected withthe upper tank and a lower end connected with the lower tank, the secondheat radiating channels being formed with a plate tube shape throughwhich the cooling water flows and being arranged in planes which areparallel to the direction of the air flow and are disposed upstream ordownstream of the first heat radiating channels with respect to thedirection of the air flow; and thermoelectric elements, each having afirst surface in surface contact with the second heat radiating channelsand a second surface exposed to air.
 2. The combined heat exchangermodule according to claim 1, further comprising: heat radiation finscoupled to at least one of the first heat radiating channels and thesecond surface of the thermoelectric elements, wherein the heatradiation fins are exposed to air.
 3. The combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to claim 1, further comprising gaskets provided to sealconnection portions between the upper and lower tanks and the first andsecond heat radiating channels.
 4. The combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric elements are coupled toboth lateral surfaces of the second heat radiating channels bysurface-contacting.
 5. The combined heat exchanger module according toclaim 1, wherein the thermoelectric elements are arranged in series andare connected to each other.
 6. The combined heat exchanger moduleaccording to claim 1, wherein the first surface of each of thethermoelectric elements that is in surface contact with the second heatradiating channels acts as a cooling surface.
 7. A combined heatexchanger module comprising: a first upper tank into which cooling wateris introduced; a lower tank into which the cooling water is introducedor from which the cooling water is discharged; a second upper tank fromwhich the cooling water is discharged; first heat radiating channels,each having an upper end connected with the first upper tank and a lowerend connected with the lower tank, the first heat radiating channelsbeing formed with a plate tube shape through which the cooling waterflows and being arranged in planes which are parallel to the directionof air flow; second heat radiating channels, each having a lower endconnected with the lower tank and an upper end connected with the secondupper tank, the second heat radiating channels being formed with a platetube shape through which the cooling water flows and being arranged inplanes which are parallel to the direction of the air flow and aredisposed upstream or downstream of the first heat radiating channelswith respect to the direction of the air flow; and thermoelectricelements, each having a first surface which is in surface contact withthe second heat radiating channels and a second surface exposed to air.